Check out the first 20 verses of Mark 5 – Jesus’ healing of a demon-possessed man.  It’s a story most of us “church folk” have heard plenty of times over the years.  Lemme give you the quick run through:  Jesus meets a man who’s possessed by an evil spirit.  Jesus has a conversation with him/his spirits.  Jesus casts them out of the man into a herd of pigs who run off a cliff.  Jesus sends the grateful man on his way.  A typical gospel healing account, but I don’t want you to miss out on how relevant this passage is to our lives.  Now usually, I would dig really deep into this gospel narrative.  I’d try and break down the passage the best I could to try and put a new spin on a familiar passage.  But I don’t want you to miss out on the view of the  forest because you are too close to the tree, so let’s talk about the application of this story!

I want you to think about this man.  What was he feeling?  What was going on in his life?  The text says that his living conditions were less than desirable.  He lived in tombs and cut himself, howling into the night.  The picture that comes to my mind is vivid, grim, and barbaric.  Here’s the crazy thing though – there are people like this man all around us and we as a global group of believers need to respond.  I’ve had multiple instances this past week where God has used different situations and encounters to convict me that I’m not doing enough to reach out to people who society might not rush to help.  If we are called to be the body of Christ, then it’s up to us to help free people of the demons they face on a daily basis.  They may not be as easily recognized as the man in Mark 5, but the issues people face are still present.  I want to tell you about three things that happened to me lately that have changed my perspective on how I encounter people on a daily basis.

Ocala Serve Week is coming up in a few weeks, and amidst the planning, logistics, phone calls, and marketing, I made a scouting trip to a job site.  Me and Josh from the youth group headed out to Moss Bluff to check out “Turning Points”, a mentoring center in the middle of a grid of dirt roads.  It wasn’t easy to find, and once we got there and met with Dave (the boss!), it was evident that God brought us there for a reason.  What I experienced was rural poverty beyond my wildest imagination.  People living in severely run-down, dirt floor trailers or in some cases, shacks. With no electricity.  Pre-teen pregnancies.  Hard drug use.  It’s happening 25 minutes away from where we open our doors to worship God.  And God used that visit to break my heart.  I dropped Josh off and broke down crying in my car, all while thinking that God can/has/will use this as an opportunity to show His glory.  It was easy to see the “demons” that surrounded the area out there on that gloomy Thursday evening.

The second thing that changed my perspective happened just last Thursday.  I was invited be another youth pastor to be a part of a new Christian movie called “To Save a Life.”  It comes out on January 22, and I’m not going to spoil the movie for you.  I will tell you however that it’s probably the most true-to-life film about some of the struggles teenagers face.  I was very impressed with how Newsong Pictures produced such a great film that was relevant, entertaining, and not canned or cheesy like some Christian movies in recent memory.  The movie centers around reaching out to the “outcasts” of the high school.  I’m going to include the link to watch the YouTube trailer for “To Save a Life” so that you can get a feel for what it’s about.  The movie reminded me of something that we all know – there are hurting people whom we come across, and many times, we do nothing about it.  We’re called to reconcile people to God (2 Cor. 5), and most of us ignore the very people we’re called to reach out to.  The movie’s themes include some dark demons: depression, suicide, drug/alcohol abuse, cutting, and other disorders.  Check out the trailer to see what I mean.

The last perspective-changing moment happened just a few hours ago at the Orange Avenue CYF this Sunday.  It comes from a Casting Crowns song called “Set Me Free” that brings this blog back around to our text in Mark 5.  It’s a video of a skit that’s set to this powerful song. I’ve included the lyrics below because the song is written from the perspective of the demon-possessed man, and it brings a great new outlook on the story:

“Set Me Free”
by Casting Crowns

It hasn’t always been this way
I remember brighter days
Before the dark ones came
Stole my mind
And wrapped my souls in chains

Now I live among the dead
Fighting voices in my head
Hoping someone hears me crying in the night
And carries me away

Set me free of these chains holding me
Is anybody out there hearing me?
Set me free

Morning breaks another day
Finds me crying in the rain
All alone with my demons I am

Who is this man that comes my way?
The dark ones shriek
They scream His name
Is this the One they say will set the captives free?
Jesus, rescue me

Set me free of these chains holding me
Is anybody out there hearing me?
Set me free

As the God man passes by
He looks straight through my eyes
The darkness cannot hide

Do you want to be free?
Lift your chains
He holds the key
All power Heav’n and earth belong to me

You are free
You are free
You are free

I hope you can now see how God’s broken my heart these past few weeks.  I believe He gave me these opportunities not by chance or coincidence, but because He’s trying to get me to wake up and show His love to hurting people.  I believe He’s calling all of us to do this.  As disciples, we’re called to follow in the Master’s footsteps.  I’m convinced that we’re going to have to respond to the call.  There are too many demons in this world, and the power of Jesus is the only way we can impact this broken world.  It’s the same power that dwells within us – God’s Holy Spirit.

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom to the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn…”  -  Isaiah 61:1-2 (NIV)

I’m inviting you on a journey with me to live up to this challenge.  I pray that God will use us to show His love to the broken.  Maybe you’re reading this blog and you’re experiencing demons of your own.  If that’s the case, please send me an email on the contact form below.  May God be with you on whatever journey you’re on in life.  May His love shower over you and remind you how special you are to Him.  May you remember that He gave His Son so that we wouldn’t have to face the demons of this life.  God bless.

In John 5, we find Jesus traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate a feast.  On his way to the feast, he passed by a place called the Sheep Gate (or Bethesda if you’re versed in Aramaic!).  I know what you’re thinking, but no, he’s not going to the Sheep Gate to pick up dinner –  the Sheep Gate was a pool where all the disabled and needy people would gather.  If you have your Bible open, you’ll notice that many translations omit verse 4, but verse 4 says that the disabled would gather there because every now and then an angel of the Lord would come down and stir the waters.  The first person to get into the pool after the angel stirred it up would be cured of whatever disease he or she had….WOW!  Picture yourself at the Sheep Gate.  Can you see the angel coming down to stir the waters?  Can you visualize seeing somebody who you’ve known to be disabled for years getting into the pool, and leaving healed?  Can you imagine your heart breaking each time this happened when you weren’t able to get in the pool?

Interestingly enough, Jesus met a man who the text says “had been an invalid for 38 years.”  His family may have set him out at the Sheep Gate the moment they knew he was disabled.  Jesus learned of his condition, and that he’d been there for “a long time (v. 6)” and asked him a rather interesting question: “Do you want to get well?”  When I first read this, I thought “Well of course he wants to get well, he’s probably been laying on his mat in that spot for 38 years, Jesus-  you know he wants to get well!”  But I thought about it some more, and I studied this narrative a little closer.  Jesus knew he wanted to get well, after all, he is the Great Physician.  Lets backtrack a little.  This man has been disabled to the degree of not being able to make it into the pool (some form of paralysis?) for 38 years.  That’s a long time!  There’s a good chance that this man has no hope of being cured. He may be so used to being in this state that being healed would present a lifestyle full of new challenges (finding a job, learning how to adapt to this new condition, etc.).  I think Jesus asked him this question in order to get the man to explore his heart and see if he really wanted to be changed.  Which leads us to an interesting comparison….

God’s healing has been documented throughout time…..the Bible records many miracles, and I know many of you can think of things God has done in your own life to reaffirm His power and providence.  But I want to take it from the physical to the spiritual for a minute here.  Take some time right now to consider your own personal relationship with God.  Where are you at?  Are you and God tight?  Are you still searching for what’s true?  Are you at a point where you think that you’ve hurt God too much?  Really evaluate where you’re at right now.  Be honest.

Jesus is asking each and every one of us, “Do you really want to be changed?”  Because when we’re changed by God, amazing things will start to happen.  Relationships with others will improve.  The peace that surpasses our human understanding will be present in your life.  You will be considered right with God.  The things from your past (and possibly present) that have kept you “laying on your mat” will be taken away by the Son.  The guilt that you’ve lived with for so long will be washed away.  Romans 12:2 says that we will be transformed.

Some of us have been living in the rut that we call sin for quite a while.  I’ve been there at one point in my relatively short (23 years) life.  It must have been 4 years ago, but I can vividly remember breaking down and laying it all before God one night at 3AM.  I was broken and disabled by the sin in my life.  I was living totally opposite of how God’s Word told me I should be living.  But when I turned it all over to Him and responded to that question, “Do you really want to be changed?”, my life transformed!  I mentioned those benefits of being changed because I’ve experienced them, and you will too!

I didn’t want to leave you hanging from John 5, so I need to tell you what happens next.  Jesus commanded the man to get up, pick up his mat, and walk –  and he did just that.  The choice is up to you.  You see, sickness may be going around, but all you have to do is respond to the call of the Savior.  You have the option to stay where you’re at in your relationship with God, or to rise up and walk with the Shepherd of the Sheep Gate.  Do you want to get well?

I’ll leave you with a passage from the book of Hebrews:  ”Therefore, since we’re surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God.”   (Heb. 12:1-2, NIV)

May God bless you today.  May He heal you of whatever it is in your life that is weighing you down.  May you walk with Him as He guides your life, and leads you in a new direction filled with love and joy.

If you want to find out more about this, please email me at:  pastorbeef@gmail.com

When Christ calls us to follow Him, He is not calling us to a life of comfortability or a clean, easy, safe life.  Is it wrong to have things?  Of course not.  But when things become more important than serving/loving God and others, we need to check ourselves.  I have a few friends who live downtown in the Square who would be considered “poor” by worldly means.  Many of them have only the clothes on their backs and the bag in their hands.  Low and behold, as I complain about my TV signal going out, Sonny’s BBQ closing at 9:30, or the cost of gas going up a few cents (all things which I’m blessed to afford), my “homies” constantly remind me of how blessed they are.  ”God has given me this beautiful day,” or “God blessed me with a great meal today.”  Talk about a reality check!  Troy, Mike, Fenton, Donnie, Chris, and Ernie are always telling me how God is providing for them throughout the week.  They are blessed even though they don’t possess much in this world.  Many of us from the Maricamp Road Church have been blessed to befriend them, share life with them, and worship with them.  They’ve inspired me on a personal level to be thankful and grateful for every blessing God gives me (and not just the earthly ones).

Speaking of blessings, one of the first sermons that Jesus gave centered around being blessed – The Beatitudes.  The title comes from the Greek word “beatus” which translates as blessed.  All 8 “blessings” start off with another Greek word, “makarios,” which means happy.  These opening verses of Matthew 5 follow a simple formula: a blessing and a promise. Isn’t it interesting that in the first of these 8 Scriptures, Jesus says “Blessed (or happy) are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:3).”  Poor in spirit??  What does that mean??  I used to just skim over this passage without really searching for the awesome message behind it.  Being poor in spirit means that you are at the end of your rope, spiritually speaking.  It’s saying, “God, I don’t have it all together, and I never will until I give You my whole life and commit to You alone.”  It’s a very vulnerable feeling to be poor in spirit.  In my opinion and interpretation of the Beatitudes, it’s the building block to get to the next one (being able to mourn your past sins)…..I think they all build off each other like stepping stones to getting connected with God (v. 3-6) and each other (v. 7-10).

Being poor in spirit is not a very popular concept in the American church today.  We like to come to church to worship, learn about our relationships with God and each other, take communion, pray, and fellowship.  In my experiences, many of us put on our “masks”, telling everyone around us that “I’m ok!  Things are fine.”  And most of the time, that’s not the case at all.  We put up this front that makes us look “spritually rich.”  You might remember another group of religious people in the NT that did this same sort of thing.  They followed the law to the letter.  They were at church whenever the doors were open.  They prayed, worshipped, learned, fellowshipped, and did everything right……well almost everything.  They didn’t understand that God wanted a relationship with them.  Understand me when I say that they were “religious.”  Now, I don’t know where we get this idea that we have to come to church and act like life is fine.  I can tell you that it’s not the case with me all the time.  Things happen, life happens.  And if there was ever a place where we should be free to take off the masks and get real, it HAS to be the church.  We as a community of believers exist to bring others into a relationship with God.  To be open.  Honest.  Vulnerable.  A community of people who aren’t afraid to bear each others burdens, no matter how messy they can be.  A group who realizes that the “Mess”-iah came to clean up all the “messes” on this side of eternity.

Being poor in spirit might even be uncomfortable.  People might look down on you.  They might judge you and make you feel like you aren’t good enough.  It’s not right of them, but it just might happen anyways.  But take it from the One who said it, you are blessed if you are poor in spirit.  Just like my “homies” in the Square, you might even find yourself feeling freed by the lack of “stuff” that you’ve given to God for Him to handle.  Blessed by the fact that God gave it all so that He could find you.  The mask can come off now.

Listen to the words of the Master: “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest of your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  He wants to take everything from you that is holding you back from giving Him your all.  He desires intimacy and openness with you.  When we learn that God’s in the business of saving people who don’t have all their ducks in a row, it makes it that much easier to approach Him.  I’m proud to say that I’m bankrupt in that regard.  I can’t do it by myself.  I don’t have all my stuff straight.  I would be clinging on for dear life without Him.

As we chase the American Dream of accumulating wealth and nice things, could it be possible that this dream might be a misguided nightmare in the makings?  May we never forget what true happiness is all about.  It’s as if Jesus is saying, “You will be happy and blessed when you understand that you absolutely need me.  You will be happy when you can take off your mask, be real with Me, and let the power of my blood make you whole.”

This week, make it a point to search yourself and do what you need to do to get real with God.  Maybe being poor isn’t such a bad thing…..

Be blessed,

Beef

Now that you know one of the worst parts of my college experience, let me share with you one of the best.  Like I said, I only spent my last 2 years at OC.  I came there with a completed A.A. Degree from community college.  Although I was half done, there was one class that OC required me to take: Turning Points in U.S. History.  Needless to say, I wasn’t too thrilled.  I came here to learn how to change lives, be the world’s best youth minister, memorize the entire Bible, and all the other things that Junior Youth Ministry majors aspire to do, NOT to learn about history.

So I show up for class on Monday with my $129 textbook and a notebook.  It’s 12:35 and the teacher is late.  The entire class (mostly freshmen) is awkwardly sitting, waiting for the professor to get here and teach.  Being the studious learner that I was, I sat in the back row.  The door opens.  A man in a wheelchair enters the classroom and in the most booming, “James Earl Jones”-esque voice I’ve ever heard, says “CLAAAASSSS….I’m Dr. John Thompson.  Take out a sheet of paper, and we’ll begin shortly.”  The classroom was your typical college lecture auditorium, but it had no wheelchair lift for Dr. Thompson to get down to the podium.  He had no feet due to surgery he’d had a year or so earlier for medical complications, but he got out of his wheelchair and crawled down the stairs to the front of the class.  This was the first thing I remember about Dr. John Thompson.

The next time we met for class, I asked him what kind of music he liked.  He was a big fan of “Chicago”, just like me, so I burned him a copy of their greatest hits CD.  Eventually, we would talk for a while after class got out.  This guy was brilliant – he wasn’t just  passionate about history, but he was passionate about investing in the lives of students.  After a month or so, me and my buddies Mark and Jared decided that we wanted to pick his brain about life, faith, and history, so we invited him to his favorite restaurant, The Delta Cafe.  Dr. Thompson shared his life with us over chicken sandwiches.  He had been in and out of the hospital with unfortunate health issues.  He was so passionate about his students and history that when he would be in the hospital, he would teach from his hospital bed through a phone system that would be at the front of our classroom!  When the end of the semester neared, I took my final and went home to FL.  It was a great semester, and Dr. Thompson was a big part of it.

I saw a lot of Dr. Thompson over that next year.  I had a lot of classes in the Liberal Arts building where his office was, so sometimes I would stop in and see how his week was going.  Every few weeks though, he would be admitted to the hospital.  He had kidney problems and other serious health issues.  One day, I found out that the night before, he randomly woke up from his sleep and just knew something wasn’t right.  He had a headache, and he immediately woke up his wife and kids and got them out of the house.  There was a carbon monoxide leak in his house, and he had saved his family, although it meant a day in the hospital for all of them.  But he always had the warmest smile on his face and genuinely cared about how each student was doing.

I’ll never forget this.  It was a Thursday in December, and finals were just around the corner.  I saw Dr. Thompson after my Psych class got out, and I talked to him for a bit.  I asked him how he was doing, and when we were gonna go to Delta Cafe again.  He told me he was blessed and that we’d have to get together either over finals week, or next semester.  I shook his hand and told him that would be great, and to have a great Christmas break if we didn’t see each other before then.  He told me to have fun in FL and we shook hands and parted ways.  The next morning, Dr. John Thompson passed away.  This friend and mentor of mine was gone.  One of OC’s kindest, award winning, most well-respected teachers had left this life for a better one in heaven.

I tell you this because if there was ever a person on this earth who had the right to be angry at his circumstances- who had the right to be upset with God-  it was Dr. Thompson.  But NEVER ONCE did he ever complain or resent his situation.  I’ve been known to complain when I don’t get enough Sweet Onion sauce on my $5 Footlong, when an icestorm cancels my flight home to FL, or when the Gators lose a meaningless football game.  He wasn’t bitter, he used his circumstances to bring glory to God.  It makes me think, “Do I really know how to praise God in the storms of life?  Do I give God glory in spite of all the stuff that happens in my life?”

“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.”     James 1:2-3  The Message

I will confess that I don’t always consider it a gift when “stuff” happens in my life.  How do we respond after the loss of a loved one?  Praise Him in the Storm After relationships crumble?  Praise Him in the Storm After unforseen things happen that bring pain, uncertainty, or tragedy?  Praise Him in the Storm Do we praise God throughout the storms of life?  It’s easy to give God the glory and praise when life is good.  I guarantee you it’s not easy to praise God when life is bad.  It’s hard.  It hurts.  It takes time to heal.  But God is big enough to take that pain from you, heal you, and make you whole.

I am challenging both you and I to praise Him in the storm.  When things get tough in your life, remember this verse from Job:  ”The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.  Blessed be the name of the Lord.”  God is good all the time, and all the time God is good.

Whether life is good or bad, consider it a gift and praise Him. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Dr. John Thompson

I had just that sort of experience happen to me this past Thursday.  If you know me, you know that I’m a diehard Florida Gators fan.  If you don’t know me by now, we need to hang out on a Saturday this fall!  I drove up to Gainesville this week to visit a few friends and stock up on Gators gear.  It was great to walk around the stadium, check out the National Championship trophies, see all the orange and blue, and experience all the other cool stuff that goes along with college football.  Being the fan that I am, I decided that I was going to try and head to a practice and wait for the players to finish and see if they would sign stuff for me  .  I camped out on the corner, and players started approaching me and signing my poster.  One of them decided to take me to where most of the other players would be, so like a kid in a candy shop, I followed him!  Not 15 minutes later, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner, Mr. Tim Tebow turns the corner and starts heading my way.  You can imagine how excited I was.  He signed for me, chatted for  a bit, and took a picture with me.   2 minutes – tops.  Great guy, amazing heart for God, and more humility and meekness than you would believe.  It was a great moment for me.  I can’t stop telling people about my encounter with Tebow.  I want to tell you about another person who met somebody she absolutely could not stop talking about.  

Looking at John 4, John recalls the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman.

Let me stop you right there.  If you research Jewish and Middle-Eastern culture around that time, you will find two things about this story that are downright scandalous.  1)  Samaritans were a “half-breed.”  They were descendants of Jews and Assyrians during the time of exile, and in Jesus’ time, they were considered trash.  They did things differently than Jews.  Jews hated Samaritans so much that they’d go out of their way to avoid even being in the same town as them during travels.  Remember reading the parable of the Good Samaritan??  Simply put, Samaritans and Jews didn’t talk.  2)  In that culture, it was not considered acceptable for a woman to talk to any man other than her husband.  So you can see that there is a pretty intense contextual background here.

The summary of the story:  Jesus goes into a place that the Jews didn’t dare enter (the Samaritan town of Sychar).  Jesus meets a person that the Jews didn’t dare meet (a Samaritan woman).  Jesus takes the time to talk/listen to her.  He showed compassion without condemnation, and he wasn’t afraid to say what needed to be said in a loving way.  As we read more of John 4, this woman’s life is altered after her encounter with the Messiah.  When you encounter Christ, your life will never be the same.  To me, this story serves as the ultimate model of evangelism and ministry.  Think back to when you came to know Jesus.  Do you still have that same fire and enthusiasm to tell others about how much your life has changed?

Now, I wouldn’t tell you all of this just because I like to type.  If you aren’t into challenges, now is the time to sign off.

We are called to be ministers of reconciliation.  We are called to be the body of Christ.  Most of us reading right now understand that concept.  But I want to ask both you and I, “Are we living it out?”  Are we truly acting as the hands of Christ?  Do we have the heart of Christ?  Are we willing to go beyond what is “acceptable” in our culture/society in order to find the lost sheep?  Are we still talking about it like the day it happened?  I am inviting you to take this challenge with me:  Make disciples at any and all costs.  Let God use your past and who you are today to show others your “encounter at the well.”

I’m interested to hear how you feel about this.  I welcome your comments, questions, and concerns in the boxes below!

Be Jesus Today,

Beef Branard

My name is John “Beef” Branard, and I am the new youth minister here at Maricamp Road.  I am originally from Merritt Island, FL, and I recently graduated from Oklahoma Christian University in May.  I am 22 years old, enjoy short walks on the beach (as long as I have my surf rod and some bait), any and all sports (GO GATORS), music, and spending time with all kinds of people.  My passion is communicating God’s love to kids.  I can’t begin to express how excited I am to be working at Maricamp Road.

Now that you know just a little bit about me, I will introduce the weekly blog segment where I get to share a piece of my heart and mind with you –  Beef’s Kabobs.  Keep checking the website weekly for new posts.  I’d also like to encourage anybody involved in the youth group (as well as those who would like to get involved in any way) to check out the Youth Group section of the site.

I’d like to close by letting you know that I’m here to serve the youth group, the congregation at Maricamp Road, the city of Ocala, and Jehovah.  If I can do anything to help you or if you’d like to sit down over coffee and share life, please let me know.  My office is open M,T,W,F from 9-12 and 2-4.  You can shoot me a message in the boxes below.  Teen or not-so-teen, I’d love to get to know ya.

God Bless and Be Holy,

John “Beef” Branard